After winning a conviction in the “Rust” gunsmith trial, New Mexico prosecutors will now focus on actor Alec Baldwin, hoping to prove he is criminally responsible for the accidental death of the film's director of photography. movie in October 2021.
In fact, special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey did not wait for the 12-person jury in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to find gun handler Hannah Gutierrez guilty of involuntary manslaughter before presenting evidence that could harm Baldwin.
During closing arguments Wednesday, Morrissey lashed out at Baldwin and his use of weapons on the set of “Rust,” particularly when he pointed his prop gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was just feet away, while rehearsing. a scene in a rustic church. . Hutchins was shot and died that afternoon.
“Alec Baldwin's conduct and his lack of gun safety inside that church that day is something he will have to answer for,” Morrissey promised jurors in Gutierrez's case.
But legal experts gave mixed opinions on whether Gutierrez's conviction will increase prosecutors' chances of obtaining a guilty verdict against Baldwin in the “Rust” shooting. The actor and producer was charged in January with involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins' death, hours after he was shot at the film's remote location south of Santa Fe. If convicted, he faces up to 18 months in prison.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty; His trial is scheduled for July. His attorneys, through a spokesperson, declined to comment Thursday.
Legal experts said they were impressed by the skill and arrogance of the New Mexico prosecutors, two experienced Albuquerque attorneys who inherited the case nearly a year ago. A previous group of prosecutors, including the Santa Fe County district attorney, was forced to resign last year from the Gutierrez and Baldwin cases after a series of errors.
Morrissey, in particular, has shown a willingness to take on Baldwin's prosecution. She and her law partner, Jason J. Lewis, managed to outmaneuver Gutierrez's defense attorneys, who attempted to shift blame for the tragedy onto the film's production managers and producers, including Baldwin.
On Wednesday, the 12-person jury deliberated only about two hours before returning the guilty verdict against Gutierrez.
“Baldwin's legal team must view this outcome with trepidation,” former federal prosecutor John Fishwick said Thursday. “This conviction is a great boost for the prosecution.”
However, other veteran lawyers pointed out several complications in the case that could make it more difficult to obtain a conviction for Baldwin. For example, Baldwin was given the prop gun that day and told that it was “cold,” meaning there was no ammunition inside it. In reality, the revolver's chamber contained six bullets: five so-called fake bullets and one real lead bullet that killed Hutchins.
Baldwin has argued, with the support of Hollywood artists' union SAG-AFTRA, that it was not his job to be the weapons safety officer on set. He said he trusted other professionals to do his job and ensure safe production. But that argument might not carry much weight in a court of law.
“His defense can't be 'I'm just an actor,' a special argument that's unique to him,” said University of New Mexico law professor Joshua Kastenberg. “The question then is: why are actors different from ordinary citizens? Well, they're not.”
Baldwin's status as a world-famous movie star undoubtedly increases the risks and scrutiny of his prosecution.
Los Angeles-based trial attorney Dave Ring said Baldwin's celebrity status could trump the case.
“The prosecution will have a difficult and uphill road to convict Alec Baldwin at the upcoming trial,” Ring said. “It is one thing to condemn a 26-year-old girl that no one has heard of before and another who has committed very reckless acts. But it is another thing to condemn one of the most popular celebrities in the United States.”
At Baldwin's trial, prosecutors will have to prove that the star acted recklessly. Baldwin's conduct on the set of “Rust” loomed large during Gutiérrez's 10-day trial.
Prosecutors played video clips of behind-the-scenes footage captured during the filming of “Rust.” In one scene, Baldwin fired his long-barreled Colt .45 while climbing a chaparral-covered hill. He shot toward the camera and someone yelled, “Cut.” Baldwin then fired another round.
Witnesses testified during Gutierrez's trial that the crossover maneuver Baldwin was rehearsing while sitting in a wooden church pew, which is when the gun was fired, was not in the script.
Gutierrez told sheriff's investigators that she was not at the church during the rehearsal because she did not know Baldwin would be handling the gun. Joel Souza, the director who was wounded in the shooting, testified that the plan was for Baldwin to simply initiate the motion of slowly drawing his gun from its leather holster, not for Baldwin to point it at the camera.
Another key question will be whether Baldwin really pulled the trigger; He has always maintained that this was not the case. Prosecutors must face questions about the status of his prop gun, which was damaged during testing at the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, in 2022 when it was struck by a rawhide mallet, according to testimony from FBI forensic examiner Bryce Ziegler.
Baldwin's lawyers have pointed to the gun's fracture to suggest it was defective when Baldwin was using it at the church.
“The gun itself is going to take center stage in the Alec Baldwin case,” Ring said. “The defense is going to muddy the waters on whether that gun was somehow defective and perhaps discharged on its own or discharged with a slight pull of the trigger.”
During an ABC News special two months after the tragedy, Baldwin told host George Stephanopoulos: “The trigger was not pulled. I didn't pull the trigger. … I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger.”
But Morrissey, the prosecutor, seems skeptical of Baldwin's statements about the trigger and whether that absolves him of guilt.
“Did Mr. Baldwin also contribute [to Hutchins’ death] When you pointed the gun at people, did you pull the hammer, and regardless of what you said to George Stephanopoulos, did you pull the trigger? Morrissey asked the jury. “Yes it is”.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed looks at her mother as she is taken into custody following the guilty verdict at her trial in district court on March 6, 2024, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
(Luis Sánchez Saturno / Pool)
There will likely be another nuance, said Kastenberg, the UNM law professor. Prosecutors will have to convince the jury that two people (Baldwin and Gutiérrez, already convicted) are responsible for the same crime.
“It makes it more difficult for the prosecution to deal with the 'shared fault' aspect of this criminal negligence case,” Kastenberg said, noting that since Gutierrez was already convicted of involuntary manslaughter, a felony, for Hutchins' death , jurors could conclude that she was the most responsible.
Gutierrez's conviction was the second for New Mexico prosecutors. “Rust” Deputy Director David Halls pleaded no contest to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon for his role in Hutchins’ death, a misdemeanor. Halls testified that he did not properly check Baldwin's gun.
Baldwin, Gutierrez and others have said Halls gave Baldwin the loaded prop gun that day. But during Gutierrez's trial, Halls denied the allegation and said it was Gutierrez who provided the actor with the revolver.
And there is the remaining possibility that Baldwin's case may not go to trial.
Baldwin's lawyers could reach a plea deal, saving him from enduring the embarrassment of a public expose of accusations and evidence.
“That would allow Baldwin to avoid a very high-profile, public and messy trial,” Ring said. “It would allow the prosecution to save face and obtain another criminal conviction in the case and avoid a case that may not win at trial.”
